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Working with dates and numbers in SQL can sometimes be a bit challenging, especially when it comes to formatting them to suit the specific requirements of your application. The good news is, SQL provides a number of built-in functions that allow you to easily change the display format of dates and numbers. Let’s explore how you can use these functions.
Formatting Dates in SQL
There are several approaches to change the format of a date in SQL. In this article, I will use the CONVERT function, which is supported by most SQL environments including Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
The CONVERT function in SQL is used as follows:
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CONVERT(data_type(length),expression, style) |
Here, ‘data_type(length)’ is the target data type with an optional length, ‘expression’ is the value to be converted, and ‘style’ is the style of the date format.
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SELECT OrderID, CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), OrderDate, 103) AS 'OrderDateFormat' FROM Orders |
In this SQL query, OrderDate is being converted to a varchar type with a length of 10. The output format is specified with the style code 103, which corresponds to dd/mm/yyyy format.
Formatting Numbers in SQL
SQL offers the FORMAT function to manage the display of numeric data. The syntax of the FORMAT function in SQL is as follows:
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FORMAT(value, format [, culture]) |
‘Value’ is the number you want to format, ‘format’ is the format that SQL will use to format the number, and ‘culture’ (optional) is the set of culture-specific formatting information.
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SELECT ProductID, FORMAT(UnitPrice, 'C', 'en-us' ) AS 'PriceFormat' FROM Products |
This SQL query uses ‘FORMAT’ to display ‘UnitPrice’ in a currency format (indicated by ‘C’), and the ‘en-us’ specifies the culture or the locale.
By mastering these SQL functions for formatting dates and numbers, your SQL coding and the presentation of your data can become more flexible and tailored to your specific needs. Remember, practice makes perfect. So, don’t forget to try these functions with different data types and see how they work.